                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COMMISSION TO CONSIDER ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, AND IMPROVEMENTS IN SERVICE
RELIABILITY FACTORS IN APPROVING CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRICAL UTILITY FACILITIES;
APPROVAL REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF CERTAIN ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION LINES;
NOTICE AND HEARINGS (§ 56-46.1)

A. Whenever the Commission is required to approve the construction of any
electrical utility facility, it shall give consideration to the effect of that
facility on the environment and establish such conditions as may be desirable or
necessary to minimize adverse environmental impact. In order to avoid
duplication of governmental activities, any valid permit or approval required
for an electric generating plant and associated facilities issued or granted by
a federal, state, or local governmental entity charged by law with
responsibility for issuing permits or approvals regulating environmental impact
and mitigation of adverse environmental impact or for other specific public
interest issues such as building codes, transportation plans, and public safety,
whether such permit or approval is granted prior to or after the
Commission&#8217;s decision, shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this
section with respect to all matters that (i) are governed by the permit or
approval or (ii) are within the authority of, and were considered by, the
governmental entity in issuing such permit or approval, and the Commission shall
impose no additional conditions with respect to such matters. Nothing in this
section shall affect the ability of the Commission to keep the record of a case
open. Nothing in this section shall affect any right to appeal such permits or
approvals in accordance with applicable law. In the case of a proposed facility
located in a region that was designated as of July 1, 2001, as serious
nonattainment for the one-hour ozone standard as set forth in the federal Clean
Air Act, the Commission shall not issue a decision approving such proposed
facility that is conditioned upon issuance of any environmental permit or
approval. In every proceeding under this subsection, the Commission shall
receive and give consideration to all reports that relate to the proposed
facility by state agencies concerned with environmental protection; and if
requested by any county or municipality in which the facility is proposed to be
built, to local comprehensive plans that have been adopted pursuant to Article 3
(&#xA7; 15.2-2223 et seq.) of Chapter 22 of Title 15.2. Additionally, the
Commission (a) shall consider the effect of the proposed facility on economic
development within the Commonwealth, including but not limited to furtherance of
the economic and job creation objectives of the Commonwealth Clean Energy Policy
set forth in &#xA7; 45.2-1706.1, and (b) shall consider any improvements in
service reliability that may result from the construction of such facility.

B. Subject to the provisions of subsection J, no electrical transmission line of
138 kilovolts or more shall be constructed unless the State Corporation
Commission shall, after at least 30 days&#8217; advance notice by (i)
publication in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the counties
and municipalities through which the line is proposed to be built, (ii) written
notice to the governing body of each such county and municipality, and (iii)
causing to be sent a copy of the notice by first class mail to all owners of
property within the route of the proposed line, as indicated on the map or
sketch of the route filed with the Commission, which requirement shall be
satisfied by mailing the notice to such persons at such addresses as are
indicated in the land books maintained by the commissioner of revenue, director
of finance or treasurer of the county or municipality, approve such line. Such
notices shall include a written description of the proposed route the line is to
follow, as well as a map or sketch of the route including a digital geographic
information system (GIS) map provided by the public utility showing the location
of the proposed route. The Commission shall make GIS maps provided under this
subsection available to the public on the Commission&#8217;s website. Such
notices shall be in addition to the advance notice to the chief administrative
officer of the county or municipality required pursuant to &#xA7; 15.2-2202.
			As a condition to approval the Commission shall determine that the line is
needed and that the corridor or route chosen for the line will avoid or
reasonably minimize adverse impact to the greatest extent reasonably practicable
on the scenic assets, historic and cultural resources recorded with the
Department of Historic Resources, cultural resources identified by federally
recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth, and environment of the area
concerned. To assist the Commission in this determination, as part of the
application for Commission approval of the line, the applicant shall summarize
its efforts to avoid or reasonably minimize adverse impact to the greatest
extent reasonably practicable on the scenic assets, historic resources recorded
with the Department of Historic Resources, and environment of the area
concerned. In making the determinations about need, corridor or route, and
method of installation, the Commission shall verify the applicant&#8217;s load
flow modeling, contingency analyses, and reliability needs presented to justify
the new line and its proposed method of installation. If the local comprehensive
plan of an affected county or municipality designates corridors or routes for
electric transmission lines and the line is proposed to be constructed outside
such corridors or routes, in any hearing the county or municipality may provide
adequate evidence that the existing planned corridors or routes designated in
the plan can adequately serve the needs of the company. Additionally, the
Commission shall consider, upon the request of the governing body of any county
or municipality in which the line is proposed to be constructed, (a) the costs
and economic benefits likely to result from requiring the underground placement
of the line and (b) any potential impediments to timely construction of the
line.

C. If, prior to such approval, any interested party shall request a public
hearing, the Commission shall, as soon as reasonably practicable after such
request, hold such hearing or hearings at such place as may be designated by the
Commission. In any hearing, the public service company shall provide adequate
evidence that existing rights-of-way cannot adequately serve the needs of the
company.
			If, prior to such approval, written requests therefor are received from the
governing body of any county or municipality through which the line is proposed
to be built or from 20 or more interested parties, the Commission shall hold at
least one hearing in the area that would be affected by construction of the
line, for the purpose of receiving public comment on the proposal. If any
hearing is to be held in the area affected, the Commission shall direct that a
copy of the transcripts of any previous hearings held in the case be made
available for public inspection at a convenient location in the area for a
reasonable time before such local hearing.

D. As used in this section, unless the context requires a different meaning:
			&#8220;Environment&#8221; or &#8220;environmental&#8221; shall be deemed to
include in meaning &#8220;historic,&#8221; as well as a consideration of the
probable effects of the line on the health and safety of the persons in the area
concerned.
			&#8220;Interested parties&#8221; includes the governing bodies of any
counties or municipalities through which the line is proposed to be built and
persons residing or owning property in each such county or municipality.
			&#8220;Public utility&#8221; means a public utility as defined in §
56-265.1.
			&#8220;Qualifying facilities&#8221; means a cogeneration or small power
production facility that meets the criteria of 18 C.F.R. Part 292.
			&#8220;Reasonably accommodate requests to wheel or transmit power&#8221;
means:

   1. That the applicant will make available to new electric generation
   facilities constructed after January 9, 1991, qualifying facilities and other
   nonutilities, a minimum of one-fourth of the total megawatts of the additional
   transmission capacity created by the proposed line, for the purpose of
   wheeling to public utility purchasers the power generated by such qualifying
   facilities and other nonutility facilities which are awarded a power purchase
   contract by a public utility purchaser in compliance with applicable state law
   or regulations governing bidding or capacity acquisition programs for the
   purchase of electric capacity from nonutility sources, provided that the
   obligation of the applicant will extend only to those requests for wheeling
   service made within the 12 months following certification by the State
   Corporation Commission of the transmission line and with effective dates for
   commencement of such service within the 12 months following completion of the
   transmission line; and

   2. That the wheeling service offered by the applicant, pursuant to subdivision
   1, will reasonably further the purposes of the Public Utilities Regulatory
   Policies Act of 1978 (P. L. 95-617), as demonstrated by submitting to the
   Commission, with its application for approval of the line, the cost
   methodologies, terms, conditions, and dispatch and interconnection
   requirements the applicant intends, subject to any applicable requirements of
   the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to include in its agreements for
   such wheeling service.

E. In the event that, at any time after the giving of the notice required in
subsection B, it appears to the Commission that consideration of a route or
routes significantly different from the route described in the notice is
desirable, the Commission shall cause notice of the new route or routes to be
published and mailed in accordance with subsection B. The Commission shall
thereafter comply with the provisions of this section with respect to the new
route or routes to the full extent necessary to give affected localities,
federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth, and interested parties
in the newly affected areas the same protection afforded to affected localities
and interested parties affected by the route described in the original notice.

F. Approval of a transmission line pursuant to this section shall be deemed to
satisfy the requirements of &#xA7; 15.2-2232 and local zoning ordinances with
respect to such transmission line.

G. The Commission shall enter into a memorandum of agreement with the Department
of Environmental Quality regarding the coordination of their reviews of the
environmental impact of electric generating plants and associated facilities. If
the proposed plants or associated facilities are in a locality identified by the
Ombudsman for Tribal Consultation pursuant to subdivision B 2 of &#xA7;
2.2-401.01, such consultation information shall be included in the memorandum of
agreement.

H. An applicant that is required to obtain (i) a certificate of public
convenience and necessity from the Commission for any electric generating
facility, electric transmission line, natural or manufactured gas transmission
line as defined in 49 C.F.R. &#xA7; 192.3, or natural or manufactured gas
storage facility (hereafter, an energy facility) and (ii) an environmental
permit for the energy facility that is subject to issuance by any agency or
board within the Secretariat of Natural and Historic Resources, may request a
pre-application planning and review process. In any such request to the
Commission or the Secretariat of Natural and Historic Resources, the applicant
shall identify the proposed energy facility for which it requests the
pre-application planning and review process. The Commission, the Department of
Environmental Quality, the Marine Resources Commission, the Department of
Wildlife Resources, the Department of Historic Resources, the Department of
Conservation and Recreation, and other appropriate agencies of the Commonwealth
shall participate in the pre-application planning and review process.
Participation in such process shall not limit the authority otherwise provided
by law to the Commission or other agencies or boards of the Commonwealth. The
Commission and other participating agencies and boards of the Commonwealth may
invite federal and local governmental entities charged by law with
responsibility for issuing permits or approvals and potentially impacted
federally recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth to participate in the
pre-application planning and review process. Through the pre-application
planning and review process, the applicant, the Commission, participating
agencies and boards of the Commonwealth, and potentially impacted federally
recognized Tribal Nations in the Commonwealth shall identify the potential
impacts and approvals that may be required and shall develop a plan that will
provide for an efficient and coordinated review of the proposed energy facility.
The plan shall include (a) a list of the permits or other approvals likely to be
required based on the information available, (b) a specific plan and preliminary
schedule for the different reviews, (c) a plan for coordinating those reviews
and the related public comment process, and (d) designation of points of
contact, either within each agency or for the Commonwealth as a whole, to
facilitate this coordination. The plan shall be made readily available to the
public and shall be maintained on a dedicated website to provide current
information on the status of each component of the plan and each approval
process including opportunities for public comment.

I. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the construction and
operation of a small renewable energy project, as defined in &#xA7; 10.1-1197.5,
by a utility regulated pursuant to this title for which the Department of
Environmental Quality has issued a permit by rule pursuant to Article 5 (&#xA7;
10.1-1197.5 et seq.) of Chapter 11.1 of Title 10.1.

J. Approval under this section shall not be required for any transmission line
for which a certificate of public convenience and necessity is not required
pursuant to subdivision A of &#xA7; 56-265.2.

HISTORY: 1972, c. 652; 1973, c. 307; 1974, c. 498; 1983, c. 438; 1984, cc. 287,
562; 1985, c. 282; 1991, cc. 90, 148; 1996, c. 254; 2001, c. 758; 2002, c. 483;
2007, cc. 756, 761, 776, 825; 2009, cc. 808, 854; 2011, cc. 236, 243; 2012, cc.
54, 284; 2016, cc. 192, 276; 2020, cc. 450, 958; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 327;
2024, c. 830.